Sony Tidbits…


An Unfair Fun Shootout: Sony RX10 Mark IV vs. Sony a9 II

Note: If you are interested in electric cars check out our new website Electric-fun.com
Sony RX100 VII Underwater Video Test (Backscatter).
A Guide to Accessories for Landscape Photography (Explora).
70-350mm FE lens test at DC.watch.
The Quality of this Lens is Stunning Sigma 40mm f/1.4 Art for Sony, Nikon, Canon, Leica, Sigma (TheSnapChick).

Stefan:

Some behind the scene videos with tips using the Sony gear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJLOaFy4b2I&t=1s
https://youtu.be/0sLlCQ9bKn8
https://youtu.be/mrdKqsfEvgY
https://youtu.be/ylyr583bUyM

Personal photos and tests from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and 500px.

Join the new Sony Alpha Camera Facebook group.
To get news from our Forum subscribe that RSS feed.
I kindly invite you all to follow our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to not miss news and rumors

New Camrote 1.3.0 version adds a9ii, a9 (Firmware >5), a7riv, RX 100 VII camera support

The new Camrote 1.3.0 version is available for iPhone and iPad.

What’s new:

It’s the version you’ve all been waiting for! Finally, the fabled PTP IP support is here, this means we now support the following Sony cameras:
a9ii, a9 (Firmware >5), a7riv, RX 100 VII and possibly even some others we’re not aware of!

For all you users who have always had support for your camera we’ve added plenty of other bits and bobs:

– More easy to understand “searching for cameras” state
– Quicker loading of GPX tracks
– Ability to view the exposure mode the camera is in*
– Slight UX/UI improvements
– Fixed bug where deleting contents would never finish
– Now displays when no SD card is inserted in your camera, and fixes bug with low memory warning when switching between video and photo mode

*Only supported on some models

Sony Tidbits…


Sony 20mm f1.8 G Lens Review – The Wide Angle Lens to Beat

Note: If you are interested in electric cars check out our new website Electric-fun.com
Buying Guide: The best lenses for Sony mirrorless cameras (Dpreview).
7 Essential Tips for the Landscape Photographer (Explora).
I took the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Backpacking and these are my First Impressions (TheSnapChick).
Review of the Sony PXW- FX9: THE MOVIE (Philip Bloom).
Tamron 70-180mm FE test at Cyberphoto.

Personal photos and tests from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and 500px.

Join the new Sony Alpha Camera Facebook group.
To get news from our Forum subscribe that RSS feed.
I kindly invite you all to follow our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to not miss news and rumors

New Lensbaby Velvet 28mm f/2.5 E-mount lens announced

Today Lensbaby announced the new Velvet 28mm f/2.5 E-mount lens you can get now at Amazon and Bhphoto. There is also this hands-on review at Explora.

Press release:

Portland, OR — Lensbaby – makers of award-winning DSLR & mirrorless lenses, optics and accessories announces today the availability of its newest lens, the Velvet 28, a 28mm, f/2.5 all-metal, hand-crafted art lens that, at its brightest apertures, captures tack-sharp detail beneath a layer of radiant glow. Velvet 28 also features exceptional 1:2 macro capabilities.

Built with landscape, adventure, travel, street photographers & videographers in mind, the Velvet 28 offers Lensbaby’s popular variable glow effect at a wide 28mm focal length, with a design that makes flat light interesting and harsh light more pleasing.

“With this solid, beautifully crafted lens, every hour is magic hour. There’s no need to take the day off from shooting between dawn and dusk,” says Craig Strong, Lensbaby Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder. “The amount of effect in your image is up to you. Add as much or as little variable glow as you like by changing your aperture. The Velvet 28 offers more effect at brighter apertures – then stop down for corner-to-corner sharpness.”

Lensbaby’s Velvet effect lenses add an ethereal mood to scenes. This unique, in-camera creative effect elevates imagery with depth, dimension and soulful expression. The Velvet 28’s close-focus capabilities, combined with effects varying from impressionistic to just a touch of velvety smoothness, provides a set of visual tools that will help creative shooters expand their vision of the world.

#Velvet 28’s 1:2 macro capability makes it an ideal in-camera effects lens for photographers & videographers who like to shoot wide, while also offering the versatility to capture closer details. The lens allows image makers to move seamlessly from shooting street scenes or capturing landscape, adventure & travel images to capturing details such as a subject’s clothing or wildflower blooms and butterflies in an alpine meadow.

The Velvet 28 comes in standard lens mounts, including Canon EF, Nikon F, Canon RF, Nikon Z, Sony E, Fujifilm X and Micro Four Thirds. It will be available for order on April 21, 2020 for $549.95.

Velvet 28 Product Specifications

  • Focal Length: 28mm
  • Aperture Range: f/2.5 – 22 with bonus ⅓ stop of light (indicated by + on aperture dial) beyond 2.5
  • 12 aperture blades
  • Minimum Focus Distance: 2 inches
  • Maximum Focus Distance: Infinity
  • 67mm filter threads
  • Focus type: Manual
  • DSLR version Size/ Weight: 1.04 lb (471.74g)
  • MIL version Size/Weight: 1.31 lb (594.2g)
  • 8 multi-coated glass elements, in 7 groups

March report: Dramatic 64% camera sales drop on the US market


graph by Visualcapitalist

Just recently BCNranking reported a 50% drop in camera sales on the Japanese market. Well it got even worse in the USA:

Retail intelligence firm Stackline analyzed ecommerce sales across the U.S. and compiled a list of the fastest growing and declining ecommerce categories (March 2020 vs. March 2019).  Camera sales dropped by 64%!!!

Peter Forsgård on why the camera business is dying…but still will survive :)

Canon unveils the R5 specs…Sony A7sII successor now must come soon!

It was bad enough to see the Panasonic S1H beating the A7sII in terms of specs. But today we learned more about the new Canon EOS-R5 too and yes Sony can’t wait a day longer to at least start teasing something about the new A7s camera!

Specs Summary (via CanonWatch):

  • 8K RAW internal video recording up to 29.97 fps
  • 8K internal video recording up to 29.97 fps in 4:2:2 10-bit Canon Log (H.265)/4:2:2 10-bit HDR PQ (H.265).
  • 4K internal video recording up to 119.88 fps in 4:2:2 10-bit Canon Log (H.265)/4:2:2 10-bit HDR PQ (H.265). 4K external recording is also available up to 59.94 fps.
  • No crop 8K and 4K video capture using the full-width of the sensor.*
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF available in all 8K and 4K recording modes.
  • Canon Log available in 8K and 4K internal recording modes.
  • A Canon first, the EOS R5 will feature 5-axis In-Body Image Stabilization, which works in conjunction with Optical IS equipped with many of the RF and EF lenses.
  • Dual-card slots: 1x CFexpress and 1x SD UHS-II.

Here are the first impression reports from youtubers:

Five new Meyer Optik E-mount lenses available for preorder at BHphoto

You can now preorder them at BHphoto:

You can now use our checkout code “RUMOR” to get an additional 15% discount on all TOPAZ products (Click here). This is what you save on the single products: